Rugby World Cup
HBS keeps World Rugby production contract to 2029
Host Broadcast Services, the Infront-owned sports broadcast production company, will continue to produce the host broadcast for all Rugby World Cups through to 2029
World Rugby eyes full unbundling of women’s rights but some joint deals ‘still make sense’
World Rugby is increasingly looking to unbundle commercial rights to the women’s game, following similar steps taken by Fifa and Uefa in recent years, but believes that bundled rights deals “still make sense” in certain markets.
ITV profits dive amid ad sales slump, sports content costs down
ITV suffered a 61-per-cent drop in pre-tax profits in 2023 amid an advertising slump and significant investment costs in its ITVX streaming service
France 2023 sets new audience records, linear TV still dominates
France 2023 was the most-watched Rugby World Cup of all time, governing body World Rugby declared today (Tuesday).
The tournament, won by South Africa, achieved 1
In Focus: Rugby World Cup
SportBusiness Media takes a deep dive into the numbers driving the commercial success of the Rugby World Cup.
Rugby World Cup boosts TF1’s financial results
French commercial broadcaster TF1 has pointed to the impact of a home Rugby World Cup (RWC) as group net profit and revenue for the media segment of the company rose year-on-year for the third quarter.
England semi-final defeat peaks at 8.7m to give ITV biggest audience of year
ITV, the UK commercial broadcaster, recorded its biggest audience of 2023, as 8.7 million people tuned into watch the closing stages of England's dramatic defeat to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
TF1 falls short of Rugby World Cup TV record as France head out
France's thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to South Africa drew the best audience of the year for commercial broadcaster TF1, but it was not enough to set a new all-time tournament viewership…
Court rejects challenge to MultiChoice’s RWC sublicensing terms
A legal challenge filed by South Africa’s eMedia Investments against the terms of pay-television operator MultiChoice’s Rugby World Cup sublicensing deal has failed after being struck from the roll at …
MultiChoice sued over RWC sublicensing, fails to negotiate Cricket World Cup deal
South Africa’s eMedia Investments has filed legal papers with Johannesburg’s High Court over the terms of pay-television broadcaster MultiChoice’s Rugby World Cup sublicensing deal which has precluded the m…
RWC opener drives record figures for TF1
France’s 27-13 win over New Zealand in the opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup generated record viewing figures in the host country, vindicating the move by commercial broadcaster TF1 to hold on t…
As World Cup kicks off, revamped RugbyPass shows the way for rugby’s stakeholders
Revamped content formats and platforms are at the heart of World Rugby’s push to change the game’s image over the course of the tournament, and it hopes that RugbyPass TV, its revamped D2C OTT service, can play its part in the reconnection.
SABC and SuperSport at impasse over Rugby World Cup deal
Public-service broadcaster the SABC has been unable to secure a sublicensing deal with pay-television broadcaster SuperSport for South Africa's matches at the forthcoming 2023 Rugby World Cup in France
World Rugby lights up dark markets with global streaming platform launch
World Rugby has moved to plug gaps in the sport's global reach through the launch of free streaming platform RugbyPass TV in time for next month's Rugby World Cup
Starzplay follows beIN as RWC rights-holder in Mena
The forthcoming Rugby World Cup in France is to be streamed exclusively in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) by Starzplay, the subscription video-on-demand OTT service in the region
Sky NZ brings Stuff into 2023 RWC fold
Sky New Zealand has announced that 12 matches from the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be simulcast on news platform Stuff, with the pay-television operator appearing to favour the tie-up plus coverage on its…
BeIN renews Rugby World Cup rights in Southeast Asia
Pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports has acquired exclusive rights in several Southeast Asian countries to this year’s Rugby World Cup, which will take place in France from September 8 to October 28.
NZME lands audio rights to Rugby World Cup
New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) has acquired audio broadcasting rights for this year’s Rugby World Cup, which will take place in France.